Job Description

Company Description
CARE is a leading humanitarian organization dedicated to fighting poverty and social injustice with a special emphasis on women and girls. CARE began working in Zimbabwe in 1992 in response to severe regional drought and has since expanded programming to address longer-term development issues. CARE Zimbabwe's FY2026–2030 Country Strategy focuses on four priorities: Humanitarian Response; Climate-Resilient Livelihoods; Empowered Girls and Women; and Women, Girls and Youth Economic Empowerment. The organization seeks to recruit outstanding candidates who are known for their excellence, professionalism, and integrity, and who are committed to making a difference.
Job Description

Position Summary

CARE International Zimbabwe is seeking a strategic and results-driven Head of Programs to join its Senior Management Team. This is a senior leadership role with primary accountability across three interconnected mandates: leading the organisation's resource mobilisation agenda; managing and developing the Programs team; and ensuring coordinated, high-quality delivery of all Country Office programming. The incumbent will serve as Country Director during delegated periods.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Resource Mobilisation (60%)

Lead and manage CARE Zimbabwe's funding pipeline across institutional donors, UN agencies, private foundations, and non-traditional financing sources.
Develop high-quality concept notes, expressions of interest, and full proposals, coordinating inputs from program, finance, and MEAL teams.
Build and manage strategic donor relationships; represent CARE Zimbabwe compellingly in donor and private sector engagements.
Drive non-traditional resource mobilisation, including blended finance, CSR partnerships, and social enterprise initiatives.
2. Program Leadership & Supervision (15%)

Provide direct line management, performance management, and professional development for all program direct reports.
Coordinate program delivery across all active projects and pillars, facilitating integration, knowledge-sharing, and cross-project synergies.
Embed a culture of continuous learning using evidence from MEAL to improve program design and delivery.
3. Programme Quality, Compliance & Operations (20%)

Ensure all programs comply with donor requirements, CARE International standards, and Zimbabwean regulations.
Review and approve high-quality donor narrative reports; oversee program-level risk management.
Collaborate with Finance, Operations, and HR Managers to ensure programs are operationally feasible and well-resourced.
Integrate CARE's safeguarding and anti-fraud standards across all program activities.
4. Strategy, Representation & Visibility (5%)

Represent CARE Zimbabwe at donor forums, cluster meetings, government consultations, and INGO coordination platforms.
Contribute to country-level policy and advocacy using programming evidence across the four programme pillars.

Qualifications and Experience

Education

Master's degree in Development Studies, International Development, Social Sciences, Public Health, Public Policy, or a related field.
Experience

Minimum 7 years of progressive experience in international development or humanitarian programming, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
Demonstrated, verifiable track record in resource mobilization — leading successful multi-million-dollar proposals across institutional donors and private foundations.
Proven experience managing multi-disciplinary program teams in a complex, multi-donor INGO environment.
Strong knowledge of Zimbabwe's development context, donor landscape, and key sector dynamics.
Key Competencies

Exceptional written communication; ability to produce persuasive proposals, donor reports, and strategic documents.
Strong leadership, people management, coaching, and conflict resolution skills.
Financial management literacy; able to develop and monitor program budgets and demonstrate value for money.
Committed to gender equality, women's leadership, and CARE's core values.